Meredith
and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home
to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other
followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous
photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and
Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold,
disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her
daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian
fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed,
their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy
tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus
begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn
Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and
present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing
story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so
terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their
family and change who they believe they are.

My Review: This
book was a little slow to get started. I would say I was at least 1/3
of the way through before I became invested. The three women were leading completely different lives and though we would get pictures of them there was nothing that united them in the story. The three individual stories were not enough by themselves to engage me. In fact, Meredith actually irritated me a little with her self-sacrificing manner and her refusal to deal with her immediate family problems.

Once Nina finally came home and the fairy tale was being told in it's entirety I didn't want to put the book down. It's such an overwhelming story that I find it hard to believe that there is anyone who could not be moved by it.

It is interesting to watch the relationship change and evolve with the three women but that is definitely a secondary story line.

If you are interested in WWII, fairy tales, and are a sucker for a good tear jerker than definitely give this book a try. I haven't had a book make me cry like that in, well I
can't remember when.

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About Me

I am a 38yo married, retired paramedic, turned SAHM/compulsive book reader. I have three children. One grown non-reader, much to my dismay, and two pre-school age children. I enjoy reading with my children and reading to escape my children :). I wouldn't mind reading to our two cats but they seem to prefer to eat the books than to listen to them! Among my other interests are cooking, going to the theater, trying a wonderful new restaurant, travel, and crocheting the occasional afghan.